(file last updated: [8/10/1998 - 15:26:6])
The Brandeis University JournalismProgram examines the place of the media in the American experience.The program offers students a unique, liberal-arts approach tothe study of journalism. A diverse faculty of scholars and journalismprofessionals teach students about the role of the media in domesticand international affairs and train students in the skills necessaryfor the accomplished practice of journalism. In class and in professionalenvironments, students wrestle with the challenges and responsibilitiesof communicating the essence of world events and issues in printand broadcast journalism.
The program is part of theUniversity's larger effort to train students to be critical thinkersand forceful writers. It is not a nuts-and-bolts communicationprogram; rather it features a strong liberal arts curriculum thatgrounds students in an academic subject area and gives them thetools to translate and transmit knowledge to a general audience.
In the core courses and electives,students study the history and organization of media institutions;examine the ethical responsibilities of media practitioners; analyzethe relationships among the media and other American social, political,and corporate institutions; and learn the reporting, writing,and editing skills needed by the print and broadcast media.
This program is open to allBrandeis undergraduates, subject to limitations on appropriateclass size. Students who complete the requirements of the programreceive journalism certificates and notations on their transcripts.
Susan Moeller, Director
(American Studies)
Jeffrey Abramson
(Politics)
John Burt
(English and American Literature)
John Carroll
(American Studies)
Jacob Cohen
(American Studies)
Thomas Doherty
(American Studies)
Gordon Fellman
(Sociology)
Andrew Hahn
(Heller School)
Morton Keller
(History)
Martin Levin
(Politics)
Robert Maeda
(Fine Arts)
Eileen McNamara
(American Studies)
Richard Parmentier
(Anthropology)
Peter Petri
(Economics and Graduate Schoolof International Economics and Finance)
Stephen Whitfield
(American Studies)
Students are expected to completea minimum of six courses from the following options:
A.Core Courses: Students will be required to take (at least) twoout of the following three core courses: AMST 137b (Journalismin Modern America), AMST 138b (Reporting Contemporary America),and AMST 15a (Writing for the Media).
B.Students will be required to complete one of the three followingoptions: Internship (students serve in an outside internship whileconcurrently taking JOUR 92a [Contemporary Media: Internship andAnalysis]); Senior Writing Project (students write a one-semesterlong paper as an independent study in the Journalism Program--JOUR98a or b); or Honors Thesis (students write an honors thesis intheir department of concentration that is on a topic relatingto the media).
C.Students will be required to take three electives from the followingfive special areas of study, no more than two in any one department:Contemporary Affairs and the Media; Analytical and Research Methods;History, Principles, and Practice; Communications Theory; or Politics,Law, and Ethics. Students are strongly encouraged to choose theirelectives from different groups. Not every course will be offeredevery year.
JOUR 92a Contemporary Media:Internship and Analysis
Prerequisite: AMST 15a,137b, or 138b. Signature of the instructor required.
This course brings togetherstudents who are independently engaged in various media internshipsand provides an opportunity for them to exchange their experienceswith other students and to discuss and analyze related readings.Students who choose to satisfy the journalism minor's internshipoption must take this course. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Moeller
JOUR 98a Independent Study
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
JOUR 98b Independent Study
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
JOUR 103b Advertising andthe Media
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructorrequired.
This course introduces theadvertising industry and its influence on various forms of themedia. It examines the creative process in advertising, the useof advertising as propaganda, and the blurring of the line betweenadvertising and editorial media. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
JOUR 104a Political Packagingin America
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Examines the history of politicalmarketing, image-making in presidential campaigns, the relationshipbetween news and ads, and the growth of public-policy advertisingby special-interest groups to influence legislation. Usually offeredevery third year. Last offered in the fall of 1996.
Mr. Carroll
JOUR 107b The Media andPublic Policy
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructorrequired.
This course examines the intersectionof the media and politics, the ways in which each influences theother, and the consequences of that intersection for a democracy.Through analytic texts, handouts, and contemporaneous newspaperand magazine articles, this course will explore the relationshipbetween policy decisions and public discourse. Usually offeredin even years.
Staff
JOUR 112b Literary Journalism:The Art of Feature Writing
[ wi ss ]
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Introduces students to thepractical aspects of writing features for newspapers and magazines.Helps develop the students' own voices by honing and improvingstudents' own work and by critiquing the work of professionalsand colleagues. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Moeller
Elective Courses
The following courses approvedfor the program are not all given in any one year and studentsare advised to consult the Course Schedule for each semester.
Contemporary Affairs andthe Media
Communications and Social Changein Developing Nations
International Affairs and theAmerican Media
Reporting on Gender, Race,and Culture
War and the American Imagination
Advertising and the Media
Analytical and ResearchMethods
Environmental Research Workshop
Fieldwork in Social Settings:Environmental Fieldwork
Quantitative Methods of SocialInquiry
History, Principles, andPractice
Television in America
News on Screen
The History and Principlesof Photojournalism
Film Workshop: Recording America
Advanced Writing Seminar
Literary Journalism: The Artof Feature Writing
Communications Theory
Communication and Media
Politics, Law, and Ethics
Political Packaging in America
The Media and Public Policy
Libel and Defamation, Privacyand Publicity
Media Politics and Society
Constitutional Law
Civil Liberties in America
Additional courses at WellesleyCollege may be taken through cross-registration.